CH 214

It was a prompt that Kim Jin-Woo had seen many times, but not in the form of a system message. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the flashing message window.

[The Labyrinth Architect’s quest and desire to pursue the truth was genuine. His pure obsession with the truth has reached the Mysteries of the Underworld.]

How much had Daedalus desired to seek his truth in order for the Mysteries of the Underworld to intervene? Kim Jin-Woo had known that Daedalus’ aspirations were no lesser than those of the Naga Sorcerers, but now, he was convinced that Daedalus was even madder than they were.

[The rank of the Grand Labyrinth has risen once again.]

[The grade of the Grand Labyrinth has changed from ‘Rare’ to ‘Unique’.]

[The Grand Labyrinth of Greed will walk a path of independent growth in the future. All the abilities the labyrinth will acquire in the process are ones that can never be found in the Grand Labyrinths of other Highlords.]

[The Labyrinth Architect's aspirations interfered with the unique abilities that the Grand Labyrinth would have acquired.]

[The Grand Labyrinth has acquired the unique ability, ‘Reversal’.]

[Half of the energy stored in the Labyrinth Core can now be used to completely reverse the structure of the labyrinth.]

[Unfortunately, you cannot use the unique ability of the Grand Labyrinth yet.]

[The unique ability, ‘Reversal’, has been disabled.]

[The moment the Grand Labyrinth recognizes you as its true ruler and surrenders, its locked unique abilities will be activated.]

The Grand Labyrinth had pretended to submit to Kim Jin-Woo when faced with his Mystical Spear, but it seemed that it hadn’t truly surrendered. The messages explained the prerequisites for the activation of the labyrinth’s unique abilities, and for the true submission and domination of the Grand Labyrinth.

Gooooooar.

When the messages cleared up, the Grand Labyrinth cried out once more. But this time, its roar was completely different from before.

The warm joy that had come with the labyrinth’s previous upgrade was completely gone, and the entire labyrinth began to radiate malice once more.

“You’re so easy to read.”

Just when Kim Jin-Woo thought he had managed to suppress the Grand Labyrinth’s malice, the Mysteries of the Underworld had intervened and things had reverted back to square one.

The Grand Labyrinth had finally bowed down to the presence of an awakened Highlord and the majesty of the Mystical Spear, but as soon as its rank rose, it began to bare its fangs at Kim Jin-Woo once more.

“Sigh…”

Dominique and the other summons sighed tiredly at the never-ending malice. Even Daedalus and the Big-Headed Dwarves, who had been jumping for joy, flinched and fled from the master room.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaah.

The Grand Labyrinth roared once more as if it were boasting of its power, and Kim Jin-Woo jumped up from his throne in response.

“Since it’s come to this, it’s time to put an end to this.” In the past, he would have been engulfed by the Grand Labyrinth’s malice and lost his consciousness, but now that he had become even more powerful, he was no longer afflicted by it. “It’s time to see if you’ve grown more powerful or if I have.”

When he grabbed the Mystical Spear and roused his fighting spirit, its meter-long shaft became four meters long in an instant, and the spear stood tall and upright, giving it an unparalleled sense of distinction. The tip of the spear, which resembled a blade of grass, was sharp and deadly.

Whooooosh.

Every time the tip of the spear moved, it sounded like a thousand trees swaying in the wind.

Gaaaaaaaah.

The Grand Labyrinth roared once again, but this time, Kim Jin-Woo closed his eyes slowly instead of yelling back fiercely. Darkness filled his eyes, and even the roar of the Grand Labyrinth, which had resounded through his eardrums as if to tear them apart, faded away.

At that moment, he reached a realm of willpower beyond his physical body.

Krrrrrr.

In a world full of darkness, a hungry beast suddenly appeared. It was a bizarre beast that resembled something in between a snake and a dragon, but was neither of the two. The sight of it, with its black snout wide open as it drooled over its potential prey, looked like the personification of Greed itself.

So this was ‘Greed’.

Facing the beast’s breath, Kim Jin-Woo opened his eyes. His black eyes glowed blue, and blue flames began to burn wherever he looked. At that moment, the black beast, Greed, roared at him loudly. Kim Jin-Woo looked at Greed as it turned aggressive toward him and quickly raised his spear.

Suddenly, the Mystical Spear, which was already longer than four meters, aimed at the heart of the beast.

The Kim Jin-Woo of old would have run away by now. Kim Jin-Woo recalled many old memories that suddenly appeared out of the blue as he thrust forward with the tip of his spear.

Kuaaaaaaa!

Gungnir howled, and the spear pierced the beast’s chest with precision.

Gwooooosh.

The body of the black beast dispersed like smoke with an otherworldly scream.

Compared to Greed’s ferocious momentum, its ending was too pathetic. Instead of rejoicing in his victory, Kim Jin-Woo smiled coolly and grabbed the spear with both his hands.

Suddenly…

From the darkness of the void, a reddish glow appeared. And there wasn’t just one. A ferocious growl rang out all around Kim Jin-Woo, and the whole area was filled with the stench of the black beast.

Despite seeing Greed suddenly multiply, Kim Jin-Woo didn’t even bat an eyelid as he whispered softly, “I’ll go first this time.”

At that moment, the Mystical Spear, Gungnir, aimed at the heart of the enemy and thrust forward once more.

***

[You have won the battle.]

[As expected of its reputation, the Mystical Spear, Gungnir, did not falter from its enemy’s killing intent. Thanks to that, it was able to subdue its tricky opponent without too much difficulty.]

[The opportunistic beast that wanted to rule you is now like a docile dog. Greed will never bare its fangs toward you ever again.]

The battle that had seemed never-ending was finally over, and Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t even recall how many times he’d had to stab the beast with the spear.

[Even though it is a victory that none will know of, your achievement in bringing one of the twelve Ancient Beasts to its knees is immeasurable.]

[Your charisma has risen tremendously. Your voice has become empowered with the dignity worthy of a Lord. The loyalty of your summons has increased, and there is no longer any fear of betrayal by the different races residing within the Grand Labyrinth.]

[You have acquired the ability ‘The Lord’s Word’.]

[You may now give a suggestion to your summons once a month. Your summons will believe and follow your words unconditionally, and may show results beyond their usual abilities to prove their loyalty to you.]

Kim Jin-Woo frowned at the messages’ acknowledgement of the twelve Ancient Beasts. He thought that the Ancient Beasts might be the power of the Highlords themselves personified. Considering that his true name and that of his Grand Labyrinth were the same, there was a high possibility of his guess being correct.

However, as far as he knew, the number of Highlords that had existed in ancient times had been ten, not twelve. No, it was questionable whether the power of Greed had even existed since ancient times.

Every being in the Underworld, as well as the Underworld system itself, had told him that the number of Ancient Lords was ten. He thought about the matter over and over, but still couldn’t come to a clear conclusion.

[Congratulations. You have finally become the ruler of the perfect Grand Labyrinth.]

[The Grand Labyrinth of Greed has finally recognized you as its master. You have succeeded in bringing the egotistical Grand Labyrinth under your complete control.]

[Labyrinth facilities can now be built using the energy stored in the Labyrinth Cores.]

[The locked facilities will appear on your list.]

[The inactive ability of the Grand Labyrinth has been activated.]

[The unique ability, ‘Reversal’, can now be used.]

On the day he brought the beast called Greed to its knees, Kim Jin-Woo was finally able to become the true master of the Grand Labyrinth.

***

The Grand Labyrinth was now under Kim Jin-Woo’s complete control, and had developed to a dazzling degree.

Inside the Grand Labyrinth, which had already been further developed by Daedalus, the non-stop noise of the Naga Workers’ tinkering could be heard, and with each passing day, new buildings and facilities were erected. With that, it started to become more like a castle in the Underworld.

“Oh! Looks like the Big-Headed Dwarves have proven their worth!” Mimir came to visit after a long time, exclaiming in admiration as he looked at the transformed Grand Labyrinth. He claimed that not even the One-Eyed Lord’s Grand Labyrinth had been this detailed and elaborate, touching the sparkling ice walls of the labyrinth several times.

“Well, you could say that.” Kim Jin-Woo didn’t wish to explain his relationship with the Grand Labyrinth of Greed. Thus, he brought up what he had seen in the Deep Floors and asked Mimir for more information.

“Originally, we were going to give priority to the Dukes, but somehow, the Dukes’ reaction was very poor.” Mimir complained that he had to keep the Counts in mind, as the Dukes he had been aiming for hadn’t shown much interest in the restored Grand Labyrinths, and thus his plan was disrupted.

“So, what did you receive from the Counts?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“I received down gems first, and they made up for whatever they lacked with treasures. And for those that are still indebted to us, we’ve sent a collection agent to collect the remaining balance.”

It was a slightly unsettling sight to see Mimir chattering on like a loan shark, but from Kim Jin-Woo’s point of view, the more the Counts worked hard to pay off their debt to the Black Merchants, the better. If possible, he hoped that Mimir would viciously oppress the Counts’ wallets.

“I see. Is this what you meant when you said you would shake up the Deep Floors?” Kim Jin-Woo asked.

“No way. Although I’ve disrupted their wallets, their existing troops remain the same. They’ve reigned over the Deep Floors for far too long for something like this to affect them,” Mimir replied.

“That’s true, especially considering what I’ve seen in the past year. It won’t be easy.”

“As powerful as they are, they’re just as arrogant and snobbish. Even when the low-ranking Nobles at the start of the Deep Floors were completely eliminated, they didn’t care a single bit, so you can see just how arrogant they are.”

Was it because his identity had been revealed? Mimir had a disgusted expression that he had never shown before. He had a dangerous look in his eyes as he acknowledged the Counts’ powers while ridiculing their arrogance. “If they keep up their arrogance, they won’t even realize that they’re slowly being attacked. And it won’t be long before that attack happens.”

At that moment, Kim Jin-Woo was certain. Mimir’s plan hadn’t included selling the Counts fake, masterless Grand Labyrinths. He had simply sold the fake Grand Labyrinths to attack the Counts’ finances, but it was clear that he hadn’t thought too deeply beyond that. Otherwise, there was no way he would have put in so much effort to sell the labyrinths to the Counts when they would have naturally come to him in the first place.

“I see.” Kim Jin-Woo continued to listen to all the information on the Deep Floors from Mimir while hiding his true inner feelings.

***

Not long after Mimir left, another guest arrived. However, this guest’s arrival wasn’t unexpected. His arrival had already been promised, but Kim Jin-Woo had simply forgotten due to his busy schedule.

“You’ve come,” Kim Jin-Woo said. The guest stood at the entrance of the Grand Labyrinth, looking at its changed appearance with a bewildered gaze. When he saw Kim Jin-Woo, he stood frozen.

“Long time no see,” Kim Jin-Woo greeted him. In response, the petrified guest stood still and simply looked around silently.

His golden, splendid scales had faded and his appearance was haggard, and his thick neck and bulky limbs didn’t match his previously majestic appearance.

“That’s right, you ran away without a word, and yet, here we are.” Kim Jin-Woo’s voice was full of laughter.

But soon, his attitude changed. A glimmer of contempt flashed through his cold eyes, and the corners of his lips were twisted, giving off a hint of ridicule. “Nice to see you again, fugitive Ortehaga.”